Juno News - June 30, 2025


Protests demand ＂hands off Iran＂ outside US consulate


Episode Stats

Length

9 minutes

Words per Minute

153.9164

Word Count

1,517

Sentence Count

120

Misogynist Sentences

1

Hate Speech Sentences

13


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 This is Clayton DeMaine reporting in Toronto in front of the U.S. consulate building.
00:00:16.480 Behind me, we have the pro-Iranian regime side saying, hands off Iran.
00:00:22.360 Behind me, too, on this side, we see a lot of anti-regime Iranian folk who are praying
00:00:29.920 for an end to the Islamic diocratic dictatorship in Iran.
00:00:35.920 So we're just going to speak to some people, ask them why they're here on both sides.
00:00:41.880 Hopefully we can speak to some people who are pro-regime, although True North often has
00:00:47.360 troubles doing so, but we'll try our best.
00:00:49.720 The main problem is U.S. imperialism and it's lacking Israel.
00:00:54.580 What we really need to do is polarize these demonstrations to show a strong anti-imperialist
00:01:00.480 fight that workers here are willing to fight against Canadian and U.S. imperialism and defend
00:01:06.760 Iran.
00:01:07.760 What would you say to people who would say that the Islamic regime in Iran is an imperial
00:01:13.360 force?
00:01:14.360 Well, it's ridiculous to call a third world country an imperial force.
00:01:18.920 It is under the boot of U.S. imperialism and it has been for decades.
00:01:22.780 It's absurd to refer to it as imperialist.
00:01:25.980 They would say, you know, like funding Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis in Yemen.
00:01:31.780 That's like them exerting imperialist force.
00:01:34.780 Do you think?
00:01:35.780 Yeah, that's just ridiculous.
00:01:38.780 Do you have any opinion about those Iranians on the other side?
00:01:42.640 Yes, they're lackeys of U.S. imperialism.
00:01:44.500 They're bought and paid for by Wall Street, by the Pentagon.
00:01:48.500 They want to bring back the Shah of Iran, the puppet of the U.S. imperialists.
00:01:53.460 We defend Iran against those scumbags.
00:01:56.460 They want to keep the colonies of the global south under their heel.
00:02:00.320 And they use Islamic reaction, any kind of religious backwardness, any kind of local
00:02:06.500 bourgeois money grubber to do that job for them.
00:02:10.320 Can you just tell me what you think is the best version of socialism that's been tried?
00:02:14.320 No.
00:02:15.320 This question is too stupid to answer.
00:02:17.320 Why?
00:02:18.320 Because this is a question of which class rules society, not which country is better than that
00:02:25.940 country.
00:02:26.940 So do you think that they were never truly successful?
00:02:30.140 The so-called communist countries, the worker states that overthrew capitalism have struggled
00:02:40.280 under terrible disadvantages, under imperialist embargo and encirclement.
00:02:45.560 They have had their own problems.
00:02:47.640 But the main enemy is clearly the imperialists who want to keep all of us as slaves.
00:02:52.040 We are a woman life freedom movement, not for the invasion, not for Israel, and not for Trump
00:03:00.840 and all of these war-mongering countries.
00:03:03.840 I just thought this was an interesting one because a lot of people here are pro-regime.
00:03:09.040 People are stuck in the middle and they're forced to choose, but we don't want to choose.
00:03:20.160 So you just think the West shouldn't be involved at all?
00:03:22.160 Is that your position?
00:03:23.160 The West should not be involved in invading and bombing in another country, any country.
00:03:29.080 No.
00:03:30.080 This terrorist regime must go.
00:03:33.880 If they go, the whole world will be peace because they're supporting all the terrorists
00:03:39.420 around the world.
00:03:40.760 If the regime collapses and the Iranian people get their country back, what's the next step?
00:03:49.000 What kind of a nation would be rebuilt?
00:03:52.000 Okay, the next step is to bring our prince, our Shah, Shah's son, actually last Shah of Iran.
00:03:59.760 His son is the best alternative because he's so peaceful.
00:04:04.240 He's the best alternative.
00:04:06.240 We love him to come back to our country to bring the peace first in Iran, then the whole Middle East.
00:04:12.960 We 150% trust him with whatever he says, but the thing is that we want him 100% rule the country.
00:04:21.520 Are you from Iran as well?
00:04:22.720 Yes.
00:04:23.360 Why did you leave?
00:04:24.080 Just because of this stupid, tyrannic government.
00:04:29.280 So many young people, they just were against the government, they protest, why we don't have
00:04:36.800 enough money, why we don't have free education, everything. But they killed them. Even if they
00:04:44.400 in Twitter, if even they support Israel, they killed them. They killed them.
00:04:51.040 So why are you here, Chris?
00:04:52.160 Here? I just don't want to see escalation in the Middle East. Don't want to see war. And I think that
00:04:57.760 Canada should be coming out stronger to denounce what's happening in the Middle East and to
00:05:02.560 de-escalate tensions. Israel and America are saying that Iran had nuclear weapons.
00:05:07.440 If they did have nuclear weapons, would you still support this side?
00:05:12.160 Well, I just think the fundamental thing is that I think diplomacy wasn't significantly
00:05:18.080 tried as a route. And I'm not saying that I'm a supporter of the regime whatsoever.
00:05:21.760 But what I know that I don't support is the escalation that's happened in the region.
00:05:24.640 That's the fundamental point for me.
00:05:26.000 So we're going to wrap it up here. There's a lot of anger on this side. The anti-regime of Iran
00:05:36.800 side has left now. We're going to go ahead to, there's a party celebrating, actually,
00:05:44.320 Israel's strikes in Iran at Mel Lassman Square. So I'm going to go over there and see if we can talk
00:05:50.320 to people there and get some footage.
00:05:51.920 No justice! No peace! No justice! No peace!
00:05:56.320 Black party, shame on you!
00:05:58.320 What brings you to this event today?
00:06:00.720 Well, certainly it's standing with the community here in Toronto, the Persian community,
00:06:05.920 the Iranian-Canadian community, who has been under threat here from regime activists, from IRGC
00:06:12.720 terrorists on our soil. We want them to know that they have friends in Canadian parliament who will
00:06:18.960 stand up against the terrorists that raise money, that organize, that meet, that intimidate our own
00:06:27.520 citizens here in Canada. They have that friend in parliament in Pierre Polyev, they have that friend
00:06:32.800 in parliament in the Conservative caucus.
00:06:34.320 Absolutely. And so what are some practical things that the Conservatives are calling on the Liberal
00:06:40.880 government to do to make the community safer here and perhaps get rid of these regime activists?
00:06:49.120 Look, certainly we know that those who commit crimes should be deported, but it's been more than one
00:06:56.880 year, just over a year, that the government passed Bill C-70. We still don't have a registry for
00:07:04.560 foreign agents here. That's what we're calling the government. We're calling on the government to
00:07:08.240 make sure that they take this seriously.
00:07:09.920 You know, Iran right now is undergoing a revolution. It's a critical time. The terrorist Islamic
00:07:14.400 regime has shut down the internet. They've silenced 90 million Iranians.
00:07:18.720 The country is under severe martial law. They don't want the world to know that Iranians want
00:07:22.480 to free themselves from 46 years of Islamic dictatorship. So we are here to be their voice.
00:07:27.520 We are here to let the people know to stand on the right side of history. As you can see,
00:07:31.520 Iranians and Jews, we are more united than we've ever been because the conflict in the Middle East
00:07:36.400 is not a war between Iran and Israel. I'm Iranian and I love my Israeli brothers and sisters. This is
00:07:41.520 a war that was started by the terrorist Islamic Republic.
00:07:43.920 Okay. And what are some practical things that can the government of Canada in its various forms
00:07:50.720 can do? Is there anything that you're calling on the government here or just coming out in support?
00:07:55.520 Well, we were hoping that Mark Carney would stand on the side of the Iranian people. Unfortunately,
00:08:00.480 he went out and he encouraged diplomacy. So it's shameful that Mark Carney wants to
00:08:06.720 wants the United States to engage in diplomatic relations with a terrorist terrorist organization
00:08:11.520 that chants death to America. I think Mark Carney made a big mistake and he's going down. He stood
00:08:16.960 on the wrong side of history and we're not going to forget that. President Trump came out and he said,
00:08:20.400 make Iran great again. And I agree. I want to thank President Trump. I also want to thank Prime
00:08:24.400 Minister Netanyahu for leveling the playing field so that we Iranians can free ourselves from this brutal
00:08:30.400 Islamic dictatorship. So make Iran great again. Thanks. I'm so glad that many people showed up
00:08:35.600 today. We had a member of parliament. MP Melissa Lansman was here. Roman Weber was here. Anna Robert was
00:08:42.160 here. Kostas Menegakis was here. Many people showed up. It's time to hold IRGC accountable. It's time to
00:08:50.320 kick IRGC out of Canadian soil. So we're here at Mel Wassman Square. Certainly a different scene than
00:08:57.920 downtown by the US consulate building. There's a few hundred Israeli, Iranian and Canadian supporters of
00:09:09.760 strikes in in the Islamic regime of Iran against the Islamic regime. It's a different scene here.
00:09:17.040 There's lots of passion. You could feel the emotion of people hoping to finally free their country of
00:09:24.160 the Islamic regime in Iran. There was one protester showed up who was there at the at the US consulate
00:09:32.560 protest. I recognize him there. Everybody shouted him down calling him a terrorist.
00:09:40.640 He was holding a sign that said something about what about the Palestinian Holocaust.
00:09:45.600 There's still speeches going on, lots of energy. But this has been Clayton Demain with True North.